This invention relates to a container for articles to be sterilized by exposure to steam. More particularly, it relates to a container used for so called "flash sterilization," in which articles to be sterilized are exposed to high temperature steam for a short interval.
The invention concerns the sterilization of surgical instruments and the like in an autoclave where they are exposed to steam at an elevated temperature. The time required for sterilization depends on the temperature and in order to reduce this time to a minimum, the instruments are exposed briefly to steam at a temperature higher than that normally used in autoclaves. This "flash sterilization" is accomplished by suddenly filling the autoclave with saturated steam at an elevated pressure, e.g. 30 psig.
Flash sterilization works well in situations where the instruments are to be used immediately following sterilization and in proximity to the autoclave. In that case, the instruments may be merely wrapped in a towel or disposed in an open basket in the autoclave so that they will be exposed to the hot steam immediately on introduction of the latter to the autoclave.
On the other hand, problems arise if the instruments are not to be used immediately or must be transported an appreciable distance to the place of use. In order to prevent contamination before use, they must be kept in a closed container. In the autoclave the use of such a container has retarded the application of the hot steam to the instruments and thus has defeated the objective of flash sterilization, i.e., to rapidly render harmless microbial forms of life. It has been proposed to include filters in one or more walls of the container so that the steam can enter through the filters. However, filters which have a sufficiently fine structure to prevent the entry of contaminants after removal of the container from the autoclave impede the inflow of steam to such an extent that flash sterilization is not reliably accomplished.